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Dragger
Dragger Large Elemental (Earth, Extraplanar) Hit Dice: 8d8+24 (60 hp) Initiative: -3 Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) Armor Class: 20 (–1 size, -3 Dex, +14 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 20 Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+16 Attack: Bite +11 melee (2d8+9) Full Attack: Bite +11 melee (2d8+9) Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. Special Attacks: Improved grab, spell-like abilities, swallow whole Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, darkvision 60 ft., earth glide, elemental traits, immunity to magic, split, tremorsense 60 ft. Saves: Fort +9, Ref -1, Will +1 Abilities: Str 22, Dex 5, Con 17, Int 5, Wis 8, Cha 12 Skills: Listen +7, Spot +8 Feats: Ability Focus (hallucinatory terrain), Alertness, Stand Still Environment: Elemental Plane of Earth Organization: Solitary or cluster (2-6) Challenge Rating: 5 Treasure: No coins, standard goods (gems only), no items Alignment: Usually neutral Advancement: 9–15 HD (Large), 16–24 HD (Huge) Level Adjustment: — The fissure in the nearby rock snaps open, revealing a huge maw filled with rock-like teeth. A single pair of extremities float through the rock, dragging forth a boulder-shaped creature. Draggers are carnivorous earth elementals named for their preferred hunting method of dragging victims below the ground within their maws. Draggers reproduce asexually, splitting into a number of smaller specimens. During this process, any gems within the creature are expelled onto the cavern floor and left behind. The newly born draggers may stay together for awhile before seeking their own hunting grounds, although they have no social interaction beyond feeding side by side. Draggers never fight others of their kind, and instinctively move far enough from one another to provide adequate food for all. Draggers have been known to go dormant for long periods of time, hiding inside solid rock and ignoring food nearby; no good reasons for this behavior has yet been offered. Draggers are strict carnivores, eating any meat they can find. They have little interest in plants, other than fungi, which the avidly devour. A dragger will attempt to devour prey only once every three hours, and regardless of success, it ignores other potential prey until its next feeding interval. Draggers can go long periods of time between meals, even up to a year or more. Their digestive juices can digest virtually anything except gems. A dragger is 8 to 12 feet in diameter and weighs 9,000 to 25,000 pounds. Draggers speak Terran, but rarely choose to do so. COMBAT Draggers prefer to use their earth glide to sit right beneath the surface of a cavern floor, using hallucinatory terrain to hide its exposed mouth and sensory organs. When prey approaches, it attempts to bite and swallow a single victim, then descend deeper into the earth while it digests its meal. Earth Glide (Ex): A dragger can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing a burrowing dragger flings the elemental back 30 feet, stunning the creature for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save. Immunity to Magic (Ex): A dragger is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below. A dragger is affected normally by force effects, such as a magic missile spell. A move earth spell forces the dragger to drop any grappled or swallowed prey, then drives the dragger back 120 feet and deals 3d12 points of damage to it. A stone shape spell either forces the dragger to drop any grappled or swallowed prey, or seals its maw shut (preventing use of its bite attack) for 1d4 rounds. A stone to flesh spell does not actually change the dragger's structure but negates its damage reduction and natural armor for 1 full round, while immobilizing the creature. A transmute rock to mud spell slows a dragger (as the slow spell) for 2d6 rounds, with no saving throw, while transmute mud to rock heals all of its lost hit points. Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a dragger must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can attempt to swallow the foe the following round. Spell-Like Abilities: At will—hallucinatory terrain (DC 17). Caster level 8th. The save DCs are Charisma-based. Split (Ex): A fully healed dragger of 16 or more HD can split into multiple draggers. The new draggers may have any combination of HD that totals to the HD of the original dragger, but each must have at least 8 HD. Each new dragger has average hit points for its Hit Dice. This process takes 1 minute, during which the dragger may take no other actions. Swallow Whole (Su): A dragger can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 3d4 points of acid damage per round from the dragger's gullet. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 15 points of damage to the gizzard (AC 17). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A Large dragger’s gullet can hold 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller opponents. In The Realms A large number of draggers inhabit the underways of Ravens Bluff, where they have been the doom of more than a few smugglers. Originally appeared in Polyhedron Magazine #44 (1988). Category:Elemental creatures